1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of material handling, and to the particular field of elements used to handle bulky materials.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many situations require a worker to lift and/or move bulky materials, such as sheets of plywood or the like. Often, a second worker is required in order to assist with lifting or moving such materials. This is time consuming and may be wasteful of workers"" time.
Therefore, the art has included devices for moving and/or lifting bulky objects. While successful in many situations, these known devices still have several drawbacks. For example, objects may have different sizes and a comfortable, secure grip on one object may not work for a second object. For example, a gripping device that works for one size plywood sheet may not be comfortable for the same worker when moving another, larger, sheet of plywood. While the worker can account for such size variation to some extent, more versatility is required for more efficiency.
Therefore, there is a need for a material handling mechanism that can accommodate a wide range of material sizes.
Still further, some material is most comfortably handled when that material is oriented at an odd angle with respect to the worker carrying the material. That is, many material handling situations are comfortable for the worker when the material is oriented essentially parallel to the direction of movement. However, there may be circumstances when the material must be oriented at a skewed angle with respect to the direction of movement. This is best visualized by envisioning a sheet of plywood being carried by a worker with one face adjacent to the worker""s side and the other face presented away from the worker, the top edge of the sheet near the worker""s shoulder, the bottom edge of the sheet near the worker""s feet, one end edge of the sheet in front of the worker and presented in the direction of movement, and a second end edge located behind the worker. If the faces of the sheet are oriented parallel to the direction of movement, the sheet can be comfortably moved and handled. However, if the faces of the sheet must be oriented at an oblique angle with respect to the direction of movement, handling the sheet may be awkward. Such workpiece handling may require more than one worker, with one worker steadying or guiding the workpiece and the other worker supporting the workpiece. This can be time consuming and wasteful of labor.
Therefore, there is a need for a material handling mechanism that can accommodate a wide range of material handling orientations.
Still further, it may not be easy to gain access to a material supporting surface for some workpieces. An example of this is a process requiring the lifting of certain workpieces where the bottom of the workpiece is not easily accessed. Lifting such workpieces may require two workers, one to lift the workpiece and one to insert a lifting element beneath the workpiece. This can be time consuming and wasteful of labor.
Therefore, there is a need for a workpiece handling mechanism that can be easily maneuvered into a lifting position for a wide variety of workpieces.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a material handling mechanism that can accommodate a wide range of material sizes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a material handling mechanism that can accommodate a wide range of material handling orientations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a workpiece handling mechanism that can be easily maneuvered into a lifting position for a wide variety of workpieces.
These, and other, objects are achieved by a material-handling mechanism comprising an externally threaded support element having a proximal end and a distal end; a handle element fixedly mounted on the proximal end of said support element; a one-piece L-shaped material-engaging element movably mounted on the distal end of said support element; and two spaced-apart internally threaded nuts mounted on said material-engaging element with the internal thread of each of said nuts threadably engaging the external thread of said support element when said material-engaging element is mounted on said support element.
The lifting mechanism of the present invention thus can be adjusted to accommodate a wide variety of workpiece sizes, orientations and lifting positions. The position and orientation of the material-engaging element relative to the handle can thus be easily adjusted to account for workpiece size, orientation and/or positions. No assistance is required to account for materials having a wide range of sizes, orientations and/or positions whereby a single worker can lift and/or move a large variety of workpieces and/or workpiece orientations and/or positions.